2007年VOA标准英语-Women Peacekeepers Can Work With Female Victims

By Barbara Schoetzau
New York
12 March 2007

Just one month ago the United Nations deployed¹ its first all-women peacekeeping unit, a group of trained policewomen from India now serving in Liberia. From VOA's New York Bureau, correspondent Barbara Schoetzau reports this team is a sign of the continuing evolution of women in peacekeeping missions.

The first all-female unit of UN peacekeepers arrives in Liberia

In 2000, the United Nations adopted a landmark² resolution to address the impact of war on women and spur greater participation³ of women in peace keeping. The U.N. department of peacekeeping operations appointed Comfort Lamptey as a gender⁴ adviser⁵ to help increase the role of women peacekeepers and study gender issues within peacekeeping operations.

Lamptey says the resolution grew out of the advocacy of women in war-torn regions who wanted a greater voice. Their regional advocacy caught the attention of U.N. officials.

 

"During the 1990s, we saw a rise in levels of internal conflicts in different continents, in Africa, in Asia, Eastern Europe and all the former Soviet⁶ Union states," said Comfort Lamptey. "I think what was clear was that while many of them were not engaged in the processes leading up to the conflict, they were being adversely⁷ effected by the war through violence against women, through the fact that they have to be solely⁸ responsible for the upkeep for their communities when the men are out fighting, through the fact that many women are becoming widows and single heads of households. And yet when it comes to actually helping⁹ to find solutions to peace, in spite of the impact of the war on them and the responsibilities that they assume during war time, they are not being consulted."

The reaction to women peacekeepers has been mixed in some locations, but their supporters say the advantages are clear. In some traditional societies, it is more acceptable for women to work with women. Lamptey has no doubt that women peacekeepers are better able to deal with women who have been victims of violence.

"I think that in a lot of countries women who have been subject to gender-based violence feel more comfortable talking to a woman," she said. "In many countries where women have been raped¹⁰ by men in uniform, they are more comfortable talking to another woman than men in uniforms. Having women in the field who are well-trained may be able to respond to women who have been violated."

As a side benefit, U.N. officials hope that women can set an example for male counterparts and reduce the instances of sexual exploitation that occurred in some peacekeeping units in recent years.

"My personal view, it's not scientific, is that the presence of more women can actually help dilute¹¹ a macho approach to peacekeeping," noted¹² Comfort Lamptey. "This is my own personal belief that if you have a contingent¹³ of 50 peacekeepers that are all men, the dynamics¹⁴ will be different than if you suddenly have 15 women, and 35 men."

Lamptey notes that in many societies, women peacekeepers have provided an extra benefit: they have become role models.

"We had women from Timor Leste and Burundi attest¹⁵ to the fact that the fact that we had women peacekeepers helped them galvanize their own aspirations¹⁶ to either join the local police, which we were helping to build in the case of Timor, the few women who were there served as role models," she said. "Similarly, in Burundi we had the head of the U.N. mission who was a woman and the local Burundi women said they were very inspired that the head of the UN in the country was a woman and that strengthened their own aspirations."

Increasing the numbers of women serving in the military components¹⁷ of peacekeeping missions is an ongoing¹⁸ struggle. Lamptey says troop-contributing nations rarely meet the number of requests for women made by the U.N. peacekeeping department. India, Pakistan, Nepal, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia are among the top troop contributing countries. Lamptey says women account for less than two percent of the military in peacekeeping operations. Women make up four percent of the police and almost 30 percent of the civilian¹⁹ staffs of missions.

1 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

2 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

3 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

4 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

5 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

6 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

7 adversely   

ad.有害地

参考例句：

• We commented adversely upon the imbecility of that message of telegraphic style. 我们对着这条电报式的愚蠢的留言发泄了一通不满。
• Widely fluctuating exchange rates may adversely affect international trade. 浮动幅度很大的汇率可能会对国际贸易产生有害的影响。

8 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

11 dilute   

vt.稀释，冲淡；adj.稀释的，冲淡的

参考例句：

• The water will dilute the wine.水能使酒变淡。
• Zinc displaces the hydrogen of dilute acids.锌置换了稀酸中的氢。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 contingent   

adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队

参考例句：

• The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
• Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。

14 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

15 attest   

vt.证明，证实；表明

参考例句：

• I can attest to the absolute truth of his statement. 我可以证实他的话是千真万确的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place. 这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

16 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

17 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

18 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

19 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。